I have scads of logic problem books-puzzles set up like Thipu, Bijou, Guihong and Purplemuse go out to lunch. One gets the fish, one gets the roast beef, one gets the chicken...and so on. Your aim is to find out which diner got which meal, and sat at which seat, wearing what color hat . The easiest way to do this is to construct a big grid and solve by elimination.

Besides that, I like crosswords. I read somewhere that they keep your mind active .

Does that kind of puzzle have a definitive name? I got a free pack of them for my Kindle, and that was called "Grid Detective," but saying "grid puzzles" usually requires further explanation when I'm looking for a book of them.

They're also called matrix problems and/or matrix logic puzzles. I just call them logic puzzles because that's what it says on the cover of the Penny Puzzle magazines, but I know a ton of things could be considered logic puzzles. Then I stroke the magazine, shift my crazy eyes, and purr, "My puzzles, my sweet, precious puzzles."

Right now, I have nine puzzle books in progress including a Times (London) crossword book I've been working down since November of 2010. Hearing about people who also have big backlogs makes me feel a bit less profligate.

It's kind of like the shopping bags of half-finished needlework stashed behind the sofa.